one night
by Karinka-ten
Summary: The life she had imagined for herself when she waa with himbwas completely different to the life she was living now. he promises her wonderful things and gave her love and happiness. he also causes her heartache and pain. now here they were. 5 years later. complete strangers.


**One night**

**Chapter one**

The reunion

"This evening is springing out of control." bored and tired Sakura Kinomoto thought as she settled comfortably in a sky blue armchair and watched her friends get drunk singing and dancing to pop music. She shook her head wishing she could have her say "Everyone, we were supposed to meet up for a movie night and board games. Popcorn, a movie and perhaps some gossip. Why do we have to get drunk?" but she remained mute sulking in the corner.

Tomoyo walked over to her swaying her hips to the music while holding a bottle of cider. "Sakura, lighten up. You only live once." She said snapping her fingers.

Sakura smiled a little "Um, Im fine..." she said hoping Tomoyo would disappear. She hated being around drunk people.

"If you are fine, why are you sober? Why are you wearing a frown. You need to let your hair down. As your friend it is my duty to tell you that since you got into medical school, you have really become uptight."

Sakura shrugged, not sure how to respond to that. Did she spend most of her days studying and interning at a local hospital? Yes, if that meant she was uptight, then so be it, she was uptight. She had lost herself in the goal of becoming a pediatrician.

Tomoyo sat on Sakura lap, her long hair draping over Sakura's face "We barely hang out anymore Saku. Ive got my clothing line and you have medicine. We are living the dream! But I miss you. I hate it we cant just hang out and go crazy like we did in high school." Tomoyo snaked her arms around Sakuras neck "You are my bestie." suddenly she moved off Sakura lap, one of her favorite songs came one. She went back to dance with the other girls in the kitchen.

Sakura stood up. She was going to call it a night. Go back to her apartment, read a book and go sleep. She slowly stood up, her body felt heavy. She felt disappointed at how the night turned out. She was really looking forward to some family rated fun. She reached for her hand bag and walked to the kitchen to say goodbye. A few of the girls were sitting on the counter while the rest were chatting. Her entire high school click was here, Naoko, Riku, Chiharu and each brought a friend.

"Listen!" Sakura spoke louder than she normally would. All of them turned their heads to look at her "I'm...Ive got to go. I have a practical tomorrow and stuff."

"Sakura, don't go." Naoko said "We are going to a club in down town. Its a new place, come with. You don't even have to be the designated driver, we'll get a cab."

"I'm not in the mood." Sakura said buttoning up her beige trench coat.

"No!" Tomoyo yelled "You are coming with us. You are going to meet a sexy guy and flirt with him, and dance, and loose your mind."

Sakura sighed "But Tomoyo."

Tomoyo was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her hand "First, you need a sexy outfit. We are going to fix your hair, your makeup and get those sexy long legs out of those jeans."

Tomoyo pulled her hand and Sakura allowed herself to be dragged into her bedroom. The other girls followed. The next thing Sakura knews, the girls were brushing her hair, putting lipstick on her lips and earrings, and they are picking out shoes and a dress. They all agreed to peach figure hugging minidress that made Sakura feel shy and awkward. As Sakura approached the mirror, she could not recognize herself. She nearly lost her balance from the nine-inch heels.

"You look hot!" Chiharu commented ecstatic while she drank from the glass of wine.

"Oh, the boys are gonna be all over you." Tomoyo said doing a happy dance.

"But I...but I..." Sakura stuttered. And then she smiled "Fine, lets do this. But Im not drinking."

"Fine fine." Tomoyo said "Im just glad you are leaving with us.

The girls called a cab and started their way to Rights Venue, a new, modern, upbeat club. Despite her enthusiasm to go. Sakura still felt some what uncomfortable and out of her element. When did everyone decide to loose their minds and why didnt she get the memo. She thought of her life and felt sad about it. She was studying to become a doctor but she did not have passion for it. She had not been on a date in four years. She had only been with one man her entire life and she was not sure if she was over him. Her friends made her feel as though she was wasting away, had lost her identity or the point of living. A night in slutty clothes in a club was not going to change anything. In the morning she was still going to wake up and be Sakura and deal with Sakura problems.

The girls were loud and Chiharu kept moving despite the fact that there was little space. Chiharu had a different success from all the other girls. She was happily married. She got pregnant at 19 and then again at 21, then married at 23. Naoko was a journalist, she traveled the world and primarily lived in London. Tomoyos designing firm was taking off and she had been dating Eriol for 3 years and Riku was famous...just famous. She dated a famous actor for a year, they were a power couple in entertainment until she dumped him and rose to fame. She received money to attend events and sometimes the papparazzi would follow her. And then there was Sakura Kinomoto...studying a course that she is just ok with it...no social life, no vacations, travel and most certainly no romance. She lived according to the same daily routine and for the first time she was wondering if she was really happy with the way things were.

Tomoyo nudged her on the shoulder "Hey, stop frowning."

Sakura forced a smile.

They arrived at the club and stood behind a cue. Chiharu and Naoko started taking selfies. "People are going to die when they see that the four of us are back together via instagram." Chiharu said cheerily "No babies this weekend...just the girls!"

Sakura decided to put in more effort and try to have fun. She joined in for a few pictures. They entered the club and stood by the bar. Sakura agreed to a few shots. They danced and drank some more. Suddenly, she had to go to the bathroom. The girls looked so busy dancing and singing along to the music, Sakura decided to go by herself. She was not sure where she was going but she concluded that it should be easy to find.

After pushing through people, she was finally there. However, there was a long que. People were so drunk, men were walking out of the women's bathroom.

She was a little drunk, she felt impulsive. She walked past the que into the bathroom. "I really need to pee. Im gonna burst. Sorry, sorry."

"Everyone wants to use the bathroom missy!" one woman screamed at her.

"Yes, I get that and I respect that. But you don't understand. Im a second away from peeing on myself. If you could just let me get in there, ill take a second and then be gone."

"Hey, you are a kind of shades of snob aren't you." another woman said.

"Im not a snob. Ask anyone of my friends. Im fair, impartial, not bias..."

Suddenly everyone was angry and howling at her. Sakura covered her ears.

One of the women called in the bouncer. When Sakura saw him, she tried to run away. He caught up with her "Im going to have to force you out of the club." was all Sakura heard. The music was too loud. "I need to find my friends first." she exclaimed. "Please Sir...I did not do anything."

Suddenly she was outside of the club. She turned to face the bouncer "Listen, my friends are in there. My friend has my hand bag. Can you tell them Im outside. They are on the dance floor...or at least let me in."

"Show me your ID." the bouncer said. He was a huge tall man "Its in my purse. Now if you can just let me in to find my friends, I will be gone. Ill catch a cab and you wont ever see me again."

The bouncer ignored her.

"Hmm, silent treatment." Sakura hissed "Well, thats just...mean."

The bouncer did not flinch. Sakura started biting her finger nails like she normally did when she was nervous. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Ok Sakura, think." she told herself trembling "I have no idea where we are, I don't have my money, or cellphone or..."

She looked back and then looked around her. There was a seven eleven across the road...maybe someone would help her. Give her money for the payphone or something. Sakura took off her stilletos and started her way to the shop. She walked in looking down, feeling embarrassed. Her short dress kept riding up and she felt a complete mess. She slowly stood behind a guy waiting in the short que (the first short que of the night.)

She could only see the mans back. He was carrying a packet of chips in one hand and a sixpack of beer in the other. His hair was messy, brown...like dark chocolate. He had a medium built and he smelt good. Sakura smiled genuinely for the first time and wondered how he looked like. She started to wonder about his life and why he was purchasing beer and chips so late in the evening. He walked up to the cashier. Sakura could still not get a glimpse of his face.

He took out money from his pocket to pay for the items.

"Thank you? Are you out of of powerade completely." He finally spoke and Sakura recognized his voice. She was certain it was him. She was ready to sneak away slowly before he sees her. But alas, he saw her.

He looked confused staring at her for a moment and then his face lite up "Sakura?" He said.

Sakura smiled, her cheeks turned bright red and she pulled her dress down as it was ridding up again "Hi, Syaoran."

They stood there for a 30 seconds looking at each other. Syaoran kept a cheeky smug on his face and Sakura gave an awkward nervous smile.

"Wow...what are you doing here."

Sakura grabbed something from the shelf "You know, shopping." She looked down and realized she had grabbed a box of tampons. She immediately put them back on the shelf. This was beyond humiliating. "What...What are you doing here?" she stuttered.

"Shopping." he replied.

"Cool...see you around." Sakura said walking past him.

"Wait!" he exclaimed before she could walk away "Sakura, I haven't seen you in five years. Are you serious? You just can't walk away."

Sakura stopped in her tracks and turned around. She sighed and said "I know...this is just awkward. Im having a bad night."

"I hope Im not making it worse.."

"Welll.." She started then smiled. She could not deny that there was a part of her that has happy to see him. Syaoran had grown up to be a very handsome man, he had always been handsome, but he seemed more of a man...less of a boy.

He smiled at her "You look great. I like the new look."

"Of course you do..." she said, showing that she was still holding a grudge against him.

He sighed "Its been five years now. You can't still be mad at me."

Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear "Im not mad at you...its just. Im surprised you are here. I thought you were in Hong Kong."

"No, moved back here 3 years ago. I live in Osaka though. Im just here in Tokyo for the weekend. A buddy of mine passed away last week. Im leaving for Osaka tomorrow morning."

"Oh...Im sorry." Sakura responded.

"Yeah. Thanks. So, what are you doing here?"

"Tomoyo and the girls, we are having a reunion type thing and they are drunk and"

"Nice." he interrupted her "I havent spoken to anyone from back in the day in ages."

"Ive got to go." Sakura said.

Syaoran nodded "So..nice bumping into you." He seemed upset that their meeting was already about to end. He had been waiting to see her again some day and he was surprised at how it happened. Often he would day dream about their reunion and wondered if she would embrace him or turn the other cheek. Here she was, as beautiful as ever, out of his reach. He was not sure what he wanted with her. He just always wanted to see her again.

Sakura nodded. They were like complete strangers now. It was hard to believe that there was a time when they were lovers. The life she had imagined for herself when she was with him was completely different to what she was living now. They were going to see the world together and design t-shirts. He promised her so many wonderful things and brought her the most love and happiness she had ever felt. He also brought her the most sadness and pain. They were together for four years, they started dating when they were 16. He was the cool handsome jock and she was the nerdy girl with bracelets. She was always surprised about what he saw in her. He introduced her to his family, friends and he made her feel special. He was her best friend...what went wrong?

"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed as she dramatically turned around.

Syoaran eyes lite up. He had not moved an inch.

"Can I use your cellphone. I need to call my friends." He searched in his pocket for a black iphone. He took it out and handed it to her. Quiet disappointed. He imagined she would suggest they have coffee and catch up like old friends do,

As she used his phone, with a nervous look. He analyzed her. She was different from what he remembered. The braces were gone. Her hair fell over her shoulders as opposed to the short hair she kept. The clumsy demeanor seemed less prominent.

She turned away as the phone rang on the other side of the line. It went straight to voice mail. "Shit." she muttered.

"Oh, you swear now." he commented.

Sakura sighed and said "She is not picking up. How am I going to get home. I knew this was a bad idea."

"I can give you a lift." Syaoran volunteered. "I just need to get cash from an ATM."

Sakura nodded "Ok, I'll pay you back."

"Its me Sakura, quit the formalities."

"Its been years." she pointed out.

He nodded "So, lets go find an ATM."

"Yes." Sakura followed behind him.

An awkward silence settled. The only sound was that of the cars driving past them. Then finally Syaoran said "Not the best neighborhood to find yourself stranded in."

"You're telling me." Sakura said shivering. Syaoran stopped in his tracks. He took of his jumper and handed it to her "Not the best time of year for a short dress."

"like i said they forced me."

"So what do you do with your days?"

"Well, I'm in my 4th year of medical school and interning at a local clinic." she said then added "Im also seeing someone."

"Is that so." He said "Well, I cant say Im surprised."

Sakura nodded "Yeah...he is a great guy."

"Whats his name." he asked as though he didnt believe her.

Sakura paused and a car speed up across the road "Car..."

"Car?" Syaoran asked.

"Carl...I said Carl." she said rectifying her lie.

"Im happy for you."

She pretended to smile as though she was daydreaming about this non-existent man she had just made up to not look pathetic.

"I am working..."

"For your family's company..." she added.

"No, a friend of mine started a company recently and he helped me out. Its alright. It has not been easy so Im happy for what I have. Im not seeing anyone..." He seemed different from how she remembered as he spoke. She could tell he had been through a lot.

There was silence again. He walked up to an ATM.

He stood there for a moment before he said "Crap...it says insufficient funds."

Sakura's eyes widened "What, you arent serious?"

Syaoran put his credit card away. Sakura crouched to the floor. "This is the worst night ever..."

...


End file.
